PR Week (UK) articles from January 2009

PR Week (UK) archives from January 2009

Lobbyists in revolt against MPs' proposed crackdown.
January 9, 2009... This week's select committee report is slammed as 'incompetent' and 'costly'. Senior lobbyists have responded angrily to MPs' demands for radical regulation of the UK lobbying industry. The House of Commons public administration select...

Triumph for 3 Monkeys.
January 9, 2009... In a shock move Microsoft has handed its seven-figure consumer and online account to mid-sized agency 3 Monkeys. The computing giant has selected Angie Moxham's agency over larger rivals such as Hill & Knowlton and Weber Shandwick. Also...

Hedge funds plan comms offensive.
January 9, 2009... The UK's hedge fund industry has brought in agency help to spearhead its fight against restrictive UK legislation. The trade body for the much-maligned industry, the Alternative Investment Management Association (AIMA), has handed its UK...

Whitehall chiefs unite.(Brief article)
January 9, 2009... Whitehall comms chiefs are working to develop a unified cross-governmental response to the recession. PRWeek has learned that Cabinet Office minister Liam Byrne oversaw a meeting of 20 top Whitehall communicators just before Christmas. ...

Paratus wins ABTA brief.
January 9, 2009... Travel trade body ABTA has called in Paratus Communications as it tries to restore consumer confidence in booking holidays. ABTA wants to reinforce its message that bookings made through an ABTA member are safe. Members include Thomson,...

Spin it like Beckham.
January 9, 2009... Chelsea FC striker Didier Drogba has taken on David Beckham's former publicist to handle his international PR. He has signed a 12-month contract with The Sports PR Company, run by Caroline McAteer and former Chelsea PRO Pippa Hancock. ...

The Week.(briefs)(BBC Trust)(Paver Smith)(Stripe Communications)(Brief article)
January 9, 2009... - BBC Trust has hired Mark Devane, head of news at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, as its head of comms. He replaces Tina Stowell, now BBC head of corporate affairs. - WPP Group is to axe thousands of jobs in the US...

Downing Street Insider's Guide: Brown's comms team for 2009.
January 9, 2009... Has peace broken out in Downing Street? Last year saw turf wars between the Brownite old guard and a new crowd of advisers led by Stephen Carter. The PM enters 2009 minus Carter and with a new 'horse-shoe' arrangement in place: a suite of...

Darwin gets a makeover.
January 9, 2009... Nearly 200 years after his birth, Mandate Communications will attempt to shift public perceptions of Charles Darwin. The agency has landed an account with theology think-tank Theos to promote its 'Rescuing Darwin' campaign. It aims to...

Ukraine says no to PR help.
January 9, 2009... Ukraine is refusing offers of PR support during the escalating disagreement with Russia over gas supplies, it emerged this week. As PRWeek went to press, exports of Russian gas to Europe via Ukraine appeared to have completely stopped amid...

EHPR disappears into Trimedia team.
January 9, 2009... Consumer agency EHPR has been folded into fellow Huntsworth agency Trimedia UK. The decision to kill off EHPR was made in response to worsening economic conditions, according to Trimedia UK CEO Loretta Tobin. 'We believe that size...

Scottish Tory party appoints comms boss.
January 9, 2009... The Scottish Conservative Party is ramping up its comms firepower with the hire of a new director of strategy and communications. Broadcast journalist Michael Crow takes up the newly created post next week. He is currently political...

Trust high in older media.(Survey)(Brief article)
January 9, 2009... Well-known media outlets, friends and family are the biggest influences on consumer decision-making, according to a survey by Ketchum and Bournemouth University. The poll of 500 British consumers found they still place most value on...

Brunswick makes job cuts.
January 9, 2009... Top City PR firms Brunswick and FD are restructuring to position themselves for a prolonged financial downturn. Brunswick has made close to ten consultants redundant, and FD - which recently announced its own redundancies (PRWeek, 28...

Healthcare: On the Agenda - Drugs boost for terminal illnesses.
January 9, 2009... IN A NUTSHELL Expensive drugs that prolong the lives of terminally ill patients stand a better chance of being approved on the NHS under new rules. The guidance put out by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE)...

Healthcare: Industry prepares to go digital in 2009.
January 9, 2009... The pharmaceutical industry is set to undergo great challenges that will create new opportunities for healthcare PROs in 2009, according to senior agency figures. Digital offerings are expected to become increasingly important in 2009,...

Healthcare: The Week in Healthcare.
January 9, 2009... - GP survey is launched Five million patients in England are being asked for their views on how to improve family doctor services in a survey launched by the Government this week. Results from the national survey will be used to drive...

Public Affairs: Experts see 2010 election.
January 9, 2009... Election Majority of agency heads say general election most likely next year Most public affairs agency chiefs believe Gordon Brown will shy away from calling a general election this year, according to a survey by PRWeek. To usher in...

Public Affairs: The lobbyists and their predictions.
January 9, 2009... We asked ten top agency bosses to predict when the next election would be and its outcome. Peter Bingle, Chairman, Bell Pottinger Public Affairs - Election in April or May 2009, Tory majority of 35. Charles Lewington, MD, Hanover...

Public Affairs: The Week in Lobbying.
January 9, 2009... - Gardant Communications has hired Sovereign Strategy UK managing director Rory O'Neill as a partner. Before joining Sovereign in 2005, O'Neill was parliamentary affairs manager at British Nuclear Fuels. He starts the new role next week. -...

City & Corporate: Glimmer of hope for City's future.
January 9, 2009... The City PR industry is steeling itself for arguably its toughest ever year, but hopes remain that by year-end conditions will be improving. It is widely expected that Q1 and Q2 will provide extremely difficult trading conditions for...

City & Corporate: In the news ... Marks & Spencer.
January 9, 2009... BRING US UP TO SPEED Iconic high street retailer Marks & Spencer is to shed 1,230 jobs and close 27 stores after a difficult Christmas trading period. The job cuts amount to more than 1.5 per cent of its 70,000 staff. News of the...

City & Corporate: The Week in City & Corporate.
January 9, 2009... - Capital MS&L to boost Manchester study, Morgan Stanley appoints Peregrine Comms Manchester's Commission for Economic Development, Employment and Skills has appointed Capital MS&L to provide comms support for the Manchester Independent...

City & Corporate: HSBC hunts for agency.
January 9, 2009... HSBC is scouring the agency world after putting its global corporate and financial PR account out to pitch. The banking behemoth currently uses Maitland for its UK financial PR, but will incorporate that brief into a wider account. It...

City & Corporate: Insolvency work is PR opportunity.(public relation)
January 9, 2009... The people who most obviously benefit from all the economic gloom are the insolvency specialists - the lawyers, accountants and consultants who specialise in corporate reconstruction - which is code for sorting out the mess when a business...

Voluntary Sector: Charities told to 'stay visible'.
January 9, 2009... Comms chiefs say charities need to be proactive in order to survive the year ahead. Voluntary sector PROs have been advised that a proactive communications strategy will be crucial in 2009 if they are to fend off a donations dip. With...

Voluntary Sector: Taking action ... Stop the War/Palestine Solidarity vs Israel/UK Government.
January 9, 2009... Protesters: Stop the War/Palestine Solidarity Target: Israel/UK Government Location: London Date: Ongoing from 31 December More than 40,000 protesters marched through London last Saturday in what The Observer called 'the biggest show...

Voluntary Sector: The Week in Charities.
January 9, 2009... - Greenpeace plans to award an annual prize to a company it deems guilty of advertising 'greenwash'. The first annual 'Emerald Paintbrush' award was recently presented to BP. At the end of 2008, members of the Greenpeace press team staged an...

Technology: Towards mobile and clouds.
January 9, 2009... Industry bosses give their predictions on significant areas likely to expand in 2009. Digital entertainment, green IT, cloud computing and mobile technology will be key growth areas for digital PR in 2009, according to agency bosses. ...

Technology: Best of the tech blogs.
January 9, 2009... YEAR OF THE NETWORK Posted by Antony Mayfield antonymayfield.com 5 January - 2009 could be a year of MetaSocNets. Meta-social networks gives you access to all of your social networks in one place. And it could be a very good thing...

Technology: The Week in Technology.
January 9, 2009... - Connectpoint merges to create new force Connectpoint PR, the Manchester-based agency, has merged with Amaze Europe and Pavilion Communication to create a new technology-focused PR agency called Amaze. Michael Cooper, previously at...

Public Sector: Campaign Breakdown - Mackintosh art.(Brief article)
January 9, 2009... Agency: Matthews Marketing Client: Mackintosh Heritage Group Timescale: January 2009-11 Budget: Undisclosed The Mackintosh Heritage Group has hired Glasgow agency Matthews Marketing to promote the legacy of the artist Charles Rennie...

Public Sector: Scrutiny of agencies will intensify.
January 9, 2009... Public sector PR agencies are expected to come under greater pressure to prove the value of their work in 2009 as public scrutiny of government PR budgets intensifies. Many agencies are already working on improving their PR evaluation...

Public Sector: The Public Sector Week.
January 9, 2009... Directgov appoints two new directors, COI scoops prestigious industry awards. Directgov, the government's digital home for public services and information for citizens, has appointed two directors. Mike Hoban is the new director of comms...

Public Sector: Mayor to lose press officers.
January 9, 2009... The TaxPayers' Alliance (TPA) is calling on government bodies to follow the mayor of London's lead in reducing their numbers of press officers. Boris Johnson is set to lose at least four press officers as a result of proposals drawn up by...

Public Sector: Don't sit and wait to be pilloried.
January 9, 2009... Let's not mince words - this year is going to be tough. Tough for people, tough for business and tough for the public sector. In terms of PR, the toughest area will be the public sector and those at the top need urgently to put a magnifying...

Media: Newsbeat has the ear of the nation's youth.
January 9, 2009... 'Cover your kids' ears when this next report begins' is probably not the kind of introduction one would expect from BBC Radio 1's Newsbeat. But the days when Radio 1's flagship news programme focused on music and not much else are over....

Media: Hit or Miss - JD Wetherspoon prompts media furore by dropping price of a pint to 99p.(JD Wetherspoon PLC)(Brief article)
January 9, 2009... Pint promo JD Wetherspoon has sparked controversy by dropping the price of a pint to a recession-busting 99p. The 700-strong pub chain is selling a pint of Greene King IPA or a bottle of San Miguel lager for under a pound as well as...

Media: Web barons - Handbag.com.
January 9, 2009... Circulation: 1.5 million users a month Staff: 10 Lead times: News - daily; everything else -three months Contact: communities@ukhandbag.com The fashion website's editor is Debbie Djordjevic. Contributing editors include beauty expert...

Media: The editor's desk.(interview with Gareth Morgan of Daily Star Sunday)(Interview)(Brief article)
January 9, 2009... Gareth Morgan, Daily Star Sunday - What is the role of the Sunday edition of the Daily Star? To bring a bit of fun into people's lives. I've told staff to put sunshine on every page. The other Sunday red tops are curmudgeonly and...

Profile: Giselle Davies - Coming in from the cold.(International Olympic Committee)
January 9, 2009... Giselle Davies has just ended a six-year stint at the IOC. She tells Adam Hill why it was one of the toughest gigs in sports PR. Giselle Davies is in a curious position. She is one of the top sports PR people in the world, but 2009 suddenly...

Campaigns: Sport/CSR - Footballers kick-start equality.
January 9, 2009... Campaign: One Game, One Community Client: Kick It Out PR team: In-house Timescale: August-October 2008 Budget: Under pounds 20,000 The period covered two weekends of professional football where each home fixture was dedicated to...

Campaigns: Event - Bristol has more on offer than just ships.
January 9, 2009... Campaign: EDF Energy Bristol Harbour Festival 2008 Client: Bristol City Council PR team: Resource PR Timescale: April-August 2008 Budget: pounds 5,000 OBJECTIVES - To change the media's perception of the festival as...

Campaigns: Not for profit - RHS gives green fingers to children.(Brief article)
January 9, 2009... Campaign: School Gardening Client: Royal Horticultural Society PR team: In-house Timescale: September-October 2008 Budget: pounds 500 (cost of photography) OBJECTIVES - To increase traffic to the website by 30 per cent -...

Opinion: Nine issues to watch in 2009.
January 9, 2009... There will doubtless be at least 2009 PR challenges to keep our profession busy through the new year and practitioners should raise their glass to the prosperity each and every challenge may bring to us. Nine, however, do seem more...

Opinion: From the Editor - A flurry of PR moves is cause for cheer.(Editorial)
January 9, 2009... Starting back at work in January is never easy. It is more challenging when one faces sub-zero temperatures and train problems, even more so when the media revel in a narrative of gloom and despair. But despite the 'carnage' on the...

Opinion: From our readers - Lobbying crackdown is disproportionate.
January 9, 2009... This week's report by the Public Administration Select Committee calling for further regulation of the UK's lobbying industry is a sledgehammer to crack a nut. The recommendation for all agencies to publish their client list is to be...

Opinion: From our readers - Tessa Jowell MP hits back on Olympics.
January 9, 2009... It may be an inconvenient truth for your columnist Ian Monk (Opinion, 12 December), but the fact is that the Game Plan report allegedly 'leaked' to The Times was published, not shelved, in 2002 and has been in the public domain for six years,...

Opinion: From our readers - Beware of 'waste your time' clients.
January 9, 2009... I want to warn consultancies out there of the nuisance that is the 'waste your time' client. All practitioners will relate to the frustration of pitches to potential clients that either steal ideas or disappear without trace. Clients, when...

Opinion: Parties set out stalls for the year.
January 9, 2009... Week one of 2009 and I am already slightly exhausted. Camps Brown and Cameron have been working all out to get their charges on every available outlet going. I have no idea how they are going to keep it up - gallons of Red Bull, loyalty and...

View from the top: Sex and shopping.
January 9, 2009... Ann Summers' chief executive Jacqueline Gold has ambitious growth plans for 2009. Cathy Wallace finds her to be a savvy media operator. Posing in the overblown luxury of the drawing room in the Covent Garden Hotel, Jacqueline Gold looks...

New Year's resolutions: Five ways to stay on top during 2009.
January 9, 2009... What's on your to-do list for 2009? As we move into a new year full of challenges for the PR industry, Cathy Wallace looks at the top five New Year's resolutions made by the UK's comms professionals. 1. Survive the credit crunch It is...

Flack: Prayers, Atheists and 'detox' cash cow!
January 9, 2009... Flack welcomes in the new year with a hushed prayer for deliverance that has emerged from God's very own press office. The Church of England has published two new prayers - one to comfort those made redundant, and one for those remaining in the...

Flack.
January 9, 2009... 1. Flacks are better than hacks, at least in charity football matches. PROs beat newspaper journalists 2-0 at the Bank of England sports ground. The teams had hoped to 'settle their differences in a sporting manner'. Find that hard to believe?...

Flack: (Saving) on expenses - The Arrogant Frog, East Sussex.
January 9, 2009... Reviewer: Vicky Stoakes, co-director, Indigo Cow What is it good for? Entertaining clients with impressive food at credit crunch-friendly prices. Everything you would expect from a top notch London bistro, but at a fraction of the...

Consumer agencies forced to look at their headcounts.
January 16, 2009... Big players in consumer PR react to financial crisis by trimming staff numbers. The economic downturn this week took its toll on the consumer PR sector as a number of agencies made significant job cuts. Cohn & Wolfe is understood to...

Ramsay and Farrow split.
January 16, 2009... Celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay has dramatically split with his long-standing publicist Gary Farrow. Ramsay has worked with Farrow - whose other clients include Elton John and Sharon Osborne - for five years. The split comes just weeks...

Green initiative for McDonald's workers.
January 16, 2009... McDonald's is embarking on a comms offensive to create environmental behavioural change among its employees. The fast-food chain has brought in green comms specialist Futerra following a four-way pitch. It is the first time McDonald's has...

Car giants' new hires.
January 16, 2009... BMW and Mercedes-Benz have each taken on fresh comms chiefs as the motor industry faces a difficult 2009. BMW has appointed Graham Biggs as corporate comms director, responsible for the BMW, Mini and Motorrad brands. The former...

Obama must raise US rep.
January 16, 2009... Weber Shandwick's global chairman has said incoming US President Barack Obama should mount 'an unprecedented public diplomacy campaign' to improve the US' reputation. Jack Leslie, a former senior aide to Senator Edward Kennedy, was...

The Week.(Citigate Dewe Rogerson to hire Brandon Stockwell as a director)(European Commission to sign Bell Pottinger )(Porter Novelli to name Anthony Viceroy as president of global business operations )(Brief article)
January 16, 2009... - Westbury Communications has won a four-way pitch to promote food and drink products with protected designations of origin. The campaign is part-financed by the European Union. - Citigate Dewe Rogerson has bolstered its consumer PR...

Slumming it.(Slumdog Millionaire to hire Film4 to market film internationally)(Brief article)
January 16, 2009... The producer of Slumdog Millionaire, the film that won four Golden Globes this week, has taken on PR support. Film4 has called in media and entertainment specialist Taylor Herring to handle corporate press, both in the UK and internationally....

Agencies hit by retailer slump.
January 16, 2009... High street Comms industry losing out as retailers feel full force of the economic downturn. The PR industry is being hit by high street names going bust, with Land of Leather the latest firm to inflict misery on its agency support. ...

Optimism abounds, despite pessimistic O4 report.(Brief article)
January 16, 2009... Bellwether report - Experts predict consumer, corporate and public affairs sectors to remain robust. PR agency bosses have suggested they are optimistic about 2009 in the wake of the latest Bellwether Report on marketing budgets. The...

Brands still seek support.
January 16, 2009... A host of companies are still seeking fresh consumer PR assistance despite the imminent recession. Canned fish supplier John West plans to appoint an agency in the next few weeks. The company is looking for an agency to handle consumer PR...

Bahrain passes brief on to Bell Pottinger.
January 16, 2009... Weber Shandwick has lost a huge corporate account with the Government of Bahrain, with the business going to rival agency Bell Pottinger. The Economic Development Board of Bahrain has appointed Bell Pottinger to handle its global FDI...

Comms war over Gaza.(Britain Israel Communications and Research Centre)(Brief article)
January 16, 2009... As the violence in Gaza continues to dominate headlines, organisations on opposing sides of the conflict have spoken to PRWeek about their comms strategies. The Britain Israel Communications and Research Centre (BICOM) said a key objective...

Labour web plan revealed.
January 16, 2009... Online media - Confidential documents provide glimpse into party's media strategy. The Labour Party has drawn up a 'new media strategy' with assistance from leading PR professionals. The strategy is revealed in two confidential...

Brown aide joins agency.
January 16, 2009... Gordon Brown's former director of political strategy has ruled out ever working in politics again after moving into the PR world this week. As revealed on prweek.com (9 January), Spencer Livermore is joining the consultancy Blue Rubicon as...

Labour new media strategy - Key players.
January 16, 2009... Derek Draper, Former lobbyist has overseen the blogging initiative, reporting to Labour's general secretary Ray Collins. Lord Mandelson, Business secretary is the main man when it comes to adapting Labour's overall campaign strategy and...

Healthcare: On the Agenda - Controversial ads lead to ASA ban.
January 16, 2009... - In a nutshell The Advanced Medical Institute (AMI), an erectile dysfunction treatment firm, recently courted controversy by refusing to comply with the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA). The watchdog had requested that the firm...

Healthcare: HCA poll uncovers trend for MedEd.
January 16, 2009... Healthcare communicators are increasing their focus on medical education and placing less emphasis on straight PR, a new survey suggests. The Healthcare Communications Association (HCA) polled 25 member companies and found 58 per cent had...

Healthcare: The Week in Healthcare.
January 16, 2009... Royal Pharma Society hires The Royal Pharmaceutical Society has bolstered its team with two new appointments. Melissa Dear and Michelle Hyland have both been brought on board as senior comms officers. They join from roles as comms manager...

Public Affairs: Debate rages after report.
January 16, 2009... Select committee Lobbyists begin unravelling select committee proposals. Lobbyists from across the industry will meet in February to discuss last week's report by the public administration select committee. The Association of...

Public Affairs: Lobbying target - Pat McFadden, minister for employment.
January 16, 2009... TEN-SECOND BIOGRAPHY McFadden was a key member of former PM Tony Blair's inner circle before he was elected MP for Wolverhampton South East in 2005. In 2006 he was made a junior minister at the Cabinet Office, responsible for social...

Public Affairs: The Week in Lobbying.
January 16, 2009... The Federation of Tour Operators (FTO) has appointed Edelman to lobby decision-makers in Westminster and Brussels. The FTO wants to raise awareness of tour operators' efforts to improve travel industry safety across Europe. The brief builds on...

City & Corporate: In the news ... Primark (again).(Brief article)
January 16, 2009... - Bring us up to speed Primark has once more found itself fighting for its ethical reputation after allegations that some of its clothing was made in British 'sweatshops'. Weekend reports said Manchester-based firm TNS Knitwear was using...

City & Corporate: More job cuts as firms tighten belts.
January 16, 2009... Further redundancies at financial PR agencies are taking place as the industry steels itself for a grim start to the year. This week, it emerged that financial agencies The Wriglesworth Consultancy and Merlin have made redundancies to help...

City & Corporate: The Week in City & Corporate.
January 16, 2009... Wriglesworth secures equity release brief, Hitachi Capital takes on Hatch Comms. The Equity Release Solicitors Alliance (ERSA) has brought in The Wriglesworth Consultancy as its retained PR agency following a competitive pitch process....

City & Corporate: Kingfisher in agency shift.(Brief article)
January 16, 2009... FSTE 100 firm Kingfisher has moved its financial PR account out of Maitland and into Brunswick. Maitland had worked with the group, which owns B&Q, Screwfix and continental retailer Castorama, for six years. The group also owned Woolworths...

City & Corporate: FD forges path for reconstruction PR.
January 16, 2009... One of the reasons the City has survived so long is that, like Madonna and the Rolling Stones, it is remarkably good at reinventing itself. As times and markets change, its institutions ditch old business models and switch to something more...

Voluntary Sector: EST rethinks comms tactics.(Energy Savings Trust)
January 16, 2009... The Energy Saving Trust turns to 'true public relations' to grab consumers' attention. The Energy Saving Trust (EST) is planning to introduce new ways of communicating with consumers rather than relying on traditional media relations. ...

Voluntary Sector: Taking action ... Climate Rush vs BAA over Heathrow's third runway.
January 16, 2009... Protesters: Climate Rush Target: BAA Location: Heathrow Airport Terminal 1 Date: 12 January Hundreds of environment protesters gathered at Heathrow Airport's Terminal 1 on Monday night to demonstrate against a third runway. The...

Voluntary Sector: The Week in Charities.
January 16, 2009... Public trust in charities has risen by 23 per cent in the past year, according to the latest survey by voluntary sector think-tank nfpSynergy. Some 65 per cent of the 1,000 people asked said they trust charities, compared with 42 per cent a...